Martin Can Handle the Workload

Curtis Martin sees himself as the ultimate blue-collar professional. The Indianapolis Colts picture him as an unstoppable vision in green.

Martin rushed for a career and franchise high of 203 yards and the clinching touchdown Sunday, lifting the New York Jets past the Colts, 27-17. The victory kept the Jets in second place in the AFC East and severely damaged the Colts’ chances of getting to the postseason.

Two weeks after injuring his buttocks, Martin spearheaded a ground game that balanced Vinny Testaverde’s 295 yards passing and two touchdowns. Martin’s 30 carries included a 55-yard run, his longest this season, in which he now has 1,094 yards.

“The thing that I am happy about is I feel I had a major part in this win,” said Martin, who joined Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson as the only players to rush for 1,000 yards in their first six seasons. His performance was the fourth 200-yard game of the day, the first time that has happened in NFL history.

“After a performance last week that was embarrassing, 29 yards [in 17 carries], we knew we couldn’t afford to do that again this season. We brought our lunch pails to work and we worked hard on the running game and it paid off.”

New York (9-4) has won three in a row following a three-game slide. It is one game behind Miami in the division.

The Colts (7-6) have lost four of their last five and saw their four-game winning streak against the Jets snapped. Peyton Manning was sacked three times and had two passes intercepted, and NFL rushing leader Edgerrin James gained only 49 yards.

Manning threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns.

“We’ve been talking about trying to correct the mistakes and we haven’t taken it to the field in three straight road games,” Manning said. “We don’t help our cause at all like this.”

The Jets, who only recently have overcome a penchant for slow starts, were nearly unstoppable in the first half. They went 78 yards in 12 plays on the opening series, including rookie Windrell Hayes’ first NFL reception, for a 32-yard gain. Wayne Chrebet and Testaverde teamed up for an 11-yard touchdown.

New York made it 14-0 on the next series. Dedric Ward’s one-handed catch in the back of the end zone capped a 70-yard drive. Martin had a 36-yard run in which he broke three tackles.

Indianapolis had the ball for only 3:31 in the first quarter and gained 23 yards. New York had 201.

It didn’t get much better for the Colts in the second quarter. John Hall made a 45-yard field goal to make it 17-0 moments after Martin’s 55-yard run put him over 1,000 yards.

Martin broke Adrian Murrell’s team-record 199 yards rushing as the Jets ran out the clock to end the game.